Club Level Information & Photos Thread

@lisbeth1998 - Nice!

A cultural rep from South Africa sat with our kiddos over at the children’s table one evening in the Kilimanjaro Club lounge. She colored with them, talked with them about their day and shared some stories from her country.

The lounge served “A Taste of Jiko,” for evening appetizers.

I forgot to mention that at the Contemporary we were able to ask for chocolate milks for the kids even though they didn’t keep any stocked in the lounge fridge. My kiddos loved that! A few times that we came to the lounge in the morning one of the CMs brought them to us before we even had a chance to ask. Little things like the CM remembering that my kids liked chocolate milk in the morning really added to the magic of our stay.

Also, they would give out bottles of water to take to the park.

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@HappyEeyore Which CL had those yummy desserts!!! Sign me up…

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Wow! what a great thread! We haven’t stayed CL yet but it’s definitely on my bucket list. I have ‘starred’ this thread so keep all the great stories comin :slight_smile:

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They did the same for us at the Contemporary and the Poly! My daughter LOVED it when they brought her a special chocolate milk “just for me!!”. The CM’s in the lounges are really special, and can definitely brighten a day with the simplest of actions.

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@kellybelle, that was at the Contemporary in Sept 2013. Suffice it to say, I ate a lot every night! Didn’t hurt that we were watching Wishes while we did it!

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Great info. Thanks. On your recommendation a few months ago I booked the Wanyama Safari - it’s a surprise for DS10 and DS13. Will post feedback in August.

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Is that what they mean when they say chocolates on your pillow???

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@lisbeth1998 - They will love it! Don’t eat a big lunch that day. CL guests are able to book Sunrise Safari and anyone staying at AKL/AKV is able to book Wanyama. Both are special. I’ve only experienced Sunrise. I booked Wanyama for my parents this past Jan., and it was the highlight of their trip!

That would be quite the treat if so! :smiley:

@PianoMinnie I absolutely agree! No friendly or fun at all. We had the bug issue there are he asked what I wanted him to do about it. It was a house keeping manager that finally found me crying in the hall.

The lounge CM - was he the cute guy from Australia? He is awesome

We request near the lobby when booking club in order to stay closer to the hub. The only reason we book club at AKL is because you are guaranteed an arusha view - prefer looking out and not having another building in the background.

The rooms at AKL are ridiculously small and there are only 2 of us. The animals and architecture are beautiful and grand. They are doing room refurbs to incorporate a new piece of furniture that includes the fridge / TV and drawers into one.

Food is great in the restaurants.

We have stayed club at GF, Poly, CR, BC, YC, AKL and BW. I found the most useful lounge to be at the Poly. The loung house design provides for nice, simple straight halls. The facility is on your way out, spacious and easy to get to. We are walkers and the stairs are much easier than elevators. I found myself more likely to stop in at Poly lounge than the others.

BC / YC and BW felt like a gerbil trail down long and twisting hallways.

I am a drinker and the snacks are nice. But I have found I prefer to book views and use GG vs the clubs (except AKL because you get the guaranteed view). I just don’t value the snack foods or free drinks enough / we don’t coincide with the evening hours ever.

I can honestly say if left to my own choices I would book PORS over all the club levels we have stayed at. The good food court I found more valuable to improving our vacation. Then I take the extra money and book things like Wild Africa Trek, Wishes cruise or go over to Discovery Cove for the day.

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What floor are the CL rooms on at AKL?

Good morning @PrincipalTinker :smiley:

Most CL rooms at AKL are on the top (5th & 6th) floors. Ours was on the 5th.

Good morning @MeetMeAtThePoly! Thank you! I am starting to plan my next April trip and I am definitely spending some of that trip at AKL. You guys are putting bad thoughts in my head :wink: ! I am struggling if CL is a waste if Jiko and Sanaa are must do ADRs.

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@PrincipalTinker - We ate at both Jiko and Sanaa during our AKL CL stay. Make your reservations for 7 or so, so you can hit the lounge for appetizers at 5, head to the restaurant for dinner, then make it back to the lounge before 10 for dessert :wink:

@MeetMeAtThePoly , I could not move after my last Jiko experience and I must admit O dream about the no sugar added dessert I had there! I really,really should stay away from this thread because I am already saying to myself, " I will book standard room before discounts and then just change it to CL when AP rates come out- my husband will never notice!’

Thanks @PiannoMinnie!

I hear ya! Booking CL with a discount is always way too tempting!

One of my friends just booked BoardWalk Inn CL for an upcoming trip on very short notice. Hopefully she’ll have some photos for us. I reminded her to email her Itinerary Planning Office at BoardWalk Inn, with dining reservation requests. Even if restaurants are booked, they check everyday for cancellations.

Thanks for all of the great information and photos here. Staying CL is something I miss. We’ve been staying at DVC villas, using RCI points, so I haven’t had the luxury of visiting the lounges in a couple of years!

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